Tulane matched its number of weekend sweeps from last year on opening weekend, coming from behind again to beat Wright State 11-5 after trailing 2-0 and 4-3.
It is too early to judge what will happen the rest of the way even though Wright State is coming off four excellent seasons in a row, returns the bulk of its roster and added an ace pitcher who missed all of 2017 with an injury. But almost all of the signs were positive this weekend as Tulane displayed resilience, scoring in the bottom half of the inning on six of the eight occasions Wright State scored in the top half, vastly improved pitching depth (of the 12 pitchers who played, only Saturday starter Ben White, Brendan Cellucci on Friday and Trent Johnson on Sunday really struggled) and much better pitch selection at the plate (striking out 18 times for the weekend after setting a team record in that category last season).
Even better was how good Ross Massey looked. It's impossible to overstate how much his disintegration last year hurt the team. Yes, it had all kinds of issues in the first year under Travis Jewett, but it is hard to be successful under any circumstance when one guys goes from 10-3 with a 2.29 ERA as a freshman to 0-8 with a 9.68 ERA. Massey was perfect after walking the first batter he faced in a three-inning stint, and he probably got squeezed on a 2-2 pitch before the walk. The consecutive outs he recorded were a foul to the catcher, a grounder to third, a grounder to short, a strikeout, a grounder to short, another grounder to short, an easy fly to center field, a strike out looking and another grounder to short. Very impressive.
After Sunday's victory, when Matt Rowland emerged from a two-and-half-game horror show at the plate to hit the decisive 3-run home run and followed with a two-RBI single, both with two outs, I talked to Grant Witherspoon, Rowland and pitcher Sam Bjorngjeld, who would have notched the win if baseball had sensible rules. Instead, Johnson got the victory for being on the mound when Wright State made its final out of the fifth inning (the only out he recorded) before Tulane went ahead in the bottom half. I thought the brief but ineffective rule could apply (Johnson retired only one of the five batters he faced before Bjorngjeld came in and retired six in a row, but I was overruled vociferously)
Tulane faces a very tough series at Ole Miss this weekend. The Rebels swept Big South favorite Winthrop at home, outscoring Winthrop 18-5, and are ranked 9th in the latest D1Baseball.com listing. Maybe Massey will replace White as the Saturday starter. Other than that, I don't foresee any possible changes.
WITHERSPOON
What are your thoughts on the entire weekend?
"We had a lot of new pitchers in there this weekend, and I feel like that was the difference. Those guys are the reason why we are going to be good. We had a lot of young guys get in there. Some transfers got in there, and we were just stringing hits together. We've got guys that are battlers in there this year. I feel like that was the biggest difference between last year and this year. It's obviously an exciting sweep. We didn't win many series last year. We're off to a good start, but we're ready to go to Oxford, too."
What is the feeling in the clubhouse. It's only three games in, but does it have a different feel?
"Well winning helps, but I love this team already. It's early but I love every guy on this team."
You had one sweep all of last year. How good does it feel to equal that total right away?
"It's awesome. The fans were great. The first weekend you can't ask for anything else. Whatever you're doing individually, everyone was a part of it in the dugout out here. We got three games against a good team."
Yesterday and today Wright State started pitching around you (four walks) to get to Rowland, and he made them pay today. How good was that to see?
"It's awesome. If they're not going to pitch to me, I'm not going to go out of my zone. I know I've got Matt behind me, and I told coach Jewett he was going to hit a bomb right there right before he did, so it was good to have him behind me. I'm so happy for Rowland right now."
How much are you looking forward to the trip to Oxford?
"Definitely. We're all excited to go down there. We haven't even talked anything about it. I've been there my freshman year. It's a fun place to play. It's a good team, I'm sure."
Last year when you were in center field it seemed like some innings would never end--walk, walk, walk, walk. How much easier is it to play when the pitchers are getting the ball over the plate?
"I hate to say it, but yes (that's what it was like last year). It's just more fun when you're in a one-run game and you have confidence in the guy on the mound. Those guys looked great this weekend."
What was the approach at the plate?
'We have a lot of guys battling with two strikes. They were telling us some numbers before yesterday's game even, just from Friday night's game, but the whole weekend we were going two strikes and then putting bats on balls. That was great."
You did not leave a runner on base until the seventh inning today.
"We've got a good lineup. One through nine I'm confident in anyone in there to drive them in and get on base. There are no holes or anything."
ROWLAND
What worked for you at the plate today?
"I was seeing it good. Not so much on Friday. Yesterday I took some good swings but just missed a couple of balls. Today I was able to find some barrels and it worked out."
They pitched around Witherspoon three times yesterday and once today, and then you made them pay with the home run. How nice was it to see that ball go over the wall?
"Yeah, it's not surprising. Spoon's our best player so I'm sure he's going to be getting pitched around a little bit all year. It's good to hit behind him. I get pitches to see after with him and everyone else on."
What are your thoughts on the weekend in general?
"There's no better way to start the season. After we got the first two, we got the series win, which was big, but we knew that we wanted to come out and get a sweep and put the exclamation point on the weekend. It was good to get three. That's always the goal."
Did it feel different in the clubhouse this weekend compared to last year?
"This is a close-knit group just like last year was a close-knit group. We have a lot of new guys. Me, BJ (Bjorngjeld) and Issa (actually a redshirt junior) are the only three seniors (grad transfer Ben White is in his final year, too). Everyone loves to talk about how we're a bunch of new guys, but we're a really close-knit group throughout the fall and the spring, so it might be early in the season but we're close. It's awesome."
What are your thoughts on the pitching staff?
"We have a great pitching staff this year. We were able to get a lot of freshmen out there and get their feet wet, so that's big. They are going to be guys for us going forward. We have a lot of talented arms."
You were 0 for 9 before you hit the home run. It's ridiculously early, but some guys might start pressing right away. What was your approach?
"We came out of the first two games 2-0, so that was really important. Especially Friday night I was able to draw that walk for the go-ahead run when we scored in the 7th, so that was good. At the end of the day If we get the win, that's all I'm really worried about. I know that the guys have confidence in me 0 for 9 or 9 for 9."
BJORNGJELD
What are your thoughts on the weekend as a whole?
"One of the best team about this team is that we fight back. We were down at some point in all three of those games, but in the dugout the confidence never left and the guys' willingness to go out there and make plays never went away. When we get behind, we have confidence we will come right back."
What about the relievers?
"We're definitely trying to save our starters' arms this week and work our way into the season, but we are deep in the bullpen. We have some freshmen that can throw, so we are going to see lots of pitchers all year."
You pitched two clean innings. What did you like best?
"The curveball was working for me. That's pretty much all I've got, so thank God."
How much is the competition on the mound driving everyone to get better?
"Oh yeah. There's definitely a lot of competition. If I don't go out there and pitch well, these freshmen are definitely going to take all my innings. But yeah, last year you were going out there no matter what. This year the competition is making everyone play their best."
You are one of the few players who had any role on the 2016 AAC championship team. Is the main difference just the ability to pitch this year compared to last year?
"One of the big differences is how many pitchers we have that are going to pitch, but we don't have any holes in our lineup and our defense is amazing. Just all the way around we're a really solid team."
Could you have drawn an opening weekend up any better?
"Oh, it's the best way to start, especially going into Ole Miss. It's a real challenge next weekend, and this was a big confidence booster. I think we're going to be ready."
With so many newcomers on the team, do you have a feel how it will handle going on the road?
"Coming into the fall I was worried about forming as a team, but man, this team came together big time. We all love each other, and we have formed a great brotherhood. It's going to really show this year."
What did you think of Rowland today?
"He had a rough two first games, but no one lost faith in him. We saw Row play all fall and saw him play all preseason. We know how good he is and we were just waiting for this to happen."
It is too early to judge what will happen the rest of the way even though Wright State is coming off four excellent seasons in a row, returns the bulk of its roster and added an ace pitcher who missed all of 2017 with an injury. But almost all of the signs were positive this weekend as Tulane displayed resilience, scoring in the bottom half of the inning on six of the eight occasions Wright State scored in the top half, vastly improved pitching depth (of the 12 pitchers who played, only Saturday starter Ben White, Brendan Cellucci on Friday and Trent Johnson on Sunday really struggled) and much better pitch selection at the plate (striking out 18 times for the weekend after setting a team record in that category last season).
Even better was how good Ross Massey looked. It's impossible to overstate how much his disintegration last year hurt the team. Yes, it had all kinds of issues in the first year under Travis Jewett, but it is hard to be successful under any circumstance when one guys goes from 10-3 with a 2.29 ERA as a freshman to 0-8 with a 9.68 ERA. Massey was perfect after walking the first batter he faced in a three-inning stint, and he probably got squeezed on a 2-2 pitch before the walk. The consecutive outs he recorded were a foul to the catcher, a grounder to third, a grounder to short, a strikeout, a grounder to short, another grounder to short, an easy fly to center field, a strike out looking and another grounder to short. Very impressive.
After Sunday's victory, when Matt Rowland emerged from a two-and-half-game horror show at the plate to hit the decisive 3-run home run and followed with a two-RBI single, both with two outs, I talked to Grant Witherspoon, Rowland and pitcher Sam Bjorngjeld, who would have notched the win if baseball had sensible rules. Instead, Johnson got the victory for being on the mound when Wright State made its final out of the fifth inning (the only out he recorded) before Tulane went ahead in the bottom half. I thought the brief but ineffective rule could apply (Johnson retired only one of the five batters he faced before Bjorngjeld came in and retired six in a row, but I was overruled vociferously)
Tulane faces a very tough series at Ole Miss this weekend. The Rebels swept Big South favorite Winthrop at home, outscoring Winthrop 18-5, and are ranked 9th in the latest D1Baseball.com listing. Maybe Massey will replace White as the Saturday starter. Other than that, I don't foresee any possible changes.
WITHERSPOON
What are your thoughts on the entire weekend?
"We had a lot of new pitchers in there this weekend, and I feel like that was the difference. Those guys are the reason why we are going to be good. We had a lot of young guys get in there. Some transfers got in there, and we were just stringing hits together. We've got guys that are battlers in there this year. I feel like that was the biggest difference between last year and this year. It's obviously an exciting sweep. We didn't win many series last year. We're off to a good start, but we're ready to go to Oxford, too."
What is the feeling in the clubhouse. It's only three games in, but does it have a different feel?
"Well winning helps, but I love this team already. It's early but I love every guy on this team."
You had one sweep all of last year. How good does it feel to equal that total right away?
"It's awesome. The fans were great. The first weekend you can't ask for anything else. Whatever you're doing individually, everyone was a part of it in the dugout out here. We got three games against a good team."
Yesterday and today Wright State started pitching around you (four walks) to get to Rowland, and he made them pay today. How good was that to see?
"It's awesome. If they're not going to pitch to me, I'm not going to go out of my zone. I know I've got Matt behind me, and I told coach Jewett he was going to hit a bomb right there right before he did, so it was good to have him behind me. I'm so happy for Rowland right now."
How much are you looking forward to the trip to Oxford?
"Definitely. We're all excited to go down there. We haven't even talked anything about it. I've been there my freshman year. It's a fun place to play. It's a good team, I'm sure."
Last year when you were in center field it seemed like some innings would never end--walk, walk, walk, walk. How much easier is it to play when the pitchers are getting the ball over the plate?
"I hate to say it, but yes (that's what it was like last year). It's just more fun when you're in a one-run game and you have confidence in the guy on the mound. Those guys looked great this weekend."
What was the approach at the plate?
'We have a lot of guys battling with two strikes. They were telling us some numbers before yesterday's game even, just from Friday night's game, but the whole weekend we were going two strikes and then putting bats on balls. That was great."
You did not leave a runner on base until the seventh inning today.
"We've got a good lineup. One through nine I'm confident in anyone in there to drive them in and get on base. There are no holes or anything."
ROWLAND
What worked for you at the plate today?
"I was seeing it good. Not so much on Friday. Yesterday I took some good swings but just missed a couple of balls. Today I was able to find some barrels and it worked out."
They pitched around Witherspoon three times yesterday and once today, and then you made them pay with the home run. How nice was it to see that ball go over the wall?
"Yeah, it's not surprising. Spoon's our best player so I'm sure he's going to be getting pitched around a little bit all year. It's good to hit behind him. I get pitches to see after with him and everyone else on."
What are your thoughts on the weekend in general?
"There's no better way to start the season. After we got the first two, we got the series win, which was big, but we knew that we wanted to come out and get a sweep and put the exclamation point on the weekend. It was good to get three. That's always the goal."
Did it feel different in the clubhouse this weekend compared to last year?
"This is a close-knit group just like last year was a close-knit group. We have a lot of new guys. Me, BJ (Bjorngjeld) and Issa (actually a redshirt junior) are the only three seniors (grad transfer Ben White is in his final year, too). Everyone loves to talk about how we're a bunch of new guys, but we're a really close-knit group throughout the fall and the spring, so it might be early in the season but we're close. It's awesome."
What are your thoughts on the pitching staff?
"We have a great pitching staff this year. We were able to get a lot of freshmen out there and get their feet wet, so that's big. They are going to be guys for us going forward. We have a lot of talented arms."
You were 0 for 9 before you hit the home run. It's ridiculously early, but some guys might start pressing right away. What was your approach?
"We came out of the first two games 2-0, so that was really important. Especially Friday night I was able to draw that walk for the go-ahead run when we scored in the 7th, so that was good. At the end of the day If we get the win, that's all I'm really worried about. I know that the guys have confidence in me 0 for 9 or 9 for 9."
BJORNGJELD
What are your thoughts on the weekend as a whole?
"One of the best team about this team is that we fight back. We were down at some point in all three of those games, but in the dugout the confidence never left and the guys' willingness to go out there and make plays never went away. When we get behind, we have confidence we will come right back."
What about the relievers?
"We're definitely trying to save our starters' arms this week and work our way into the season, but we are deep in the bullpen. We have some freshmen that can throw, so we are going to see lots of pitchers all year."
You pitched two clean innings. What did you like best?
"The curveball was working for me. That's pretty much all I've got, so thank God."
How much is the competition on the mound driving everyone to get better?
"Oh yeah. There's definitely a lot of competition. If I don't go out there and pitch well, these freshmen are definitely going to take all my innings. But yeah, last year you were going out there no matter what. This year the competition is making everyone play their best."
You are one of the few players who had any role on the 2016 AAC championship team. Is the main difference just the ability to pitch this year compared to last year?
"One of the big differences is how many pitchers we have that are going to pitch, but we don't have any holes in our lineup and our defense is amazing. Just all the way around we're a really solid team."
Could you have drawn an opening weekend up any better?
"Oh, it's the best way to start, especially going into Ole Miss. It's a real challenge next weekend, and this was a big confidence booster. I think we're going to be ready."
With so many newcomers on the team, do you have a feel how it will handle going on the road?
"Coming into the fall I was worried about forming as a team, but man, this team came together big time. We all love each other, and we have formed a great brotherhood. It's going to really show this year."
What did you think of Rowland today?
"He had a rough two first games, but no one lost faith in him. We saw Row play all fall and saw him play all preseason. We know how good he is and we were just waiting for this to happen."